Big West Multis
Date: Friday-Saturday (May 9-10)
Location: Jack Rose Track - Long Beach, Calif.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - Senior Max Daniels will represent the UC Irvine men's track & field team in the decathlon at the Big West Multi-Event Championships, May 9-10, at Long Beach State's Jack Rose Track. Action gets underway at 12 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It will be Daniels' first decathlon of the season. Senior Garren Haynes is also entered in the long jump and triple jump at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Tune-Up on Friday (May 9).

MAX DANIELS // Decathlon // Senior // Santa Maria, Calif. // Major: Sociology
• Daniels finished third in the decathlon at the 2024 Big West Championships to earn all-conference honors.
• He compiled a personal-record 7,435 points at last year's Bryan Clay Invitational.
• That score ranks fifth all-time in school history and is the fourth best since the scoring table changed in 1986.
• Daniels is also among UCI's all-time top-10 in the long jump (8th) and 100m (T10th).
• This year, he has competed in five meets, with three of them being held at LBSU's Jack Rose Track.
• Daniels ran a season-best 10.63 in the 100m at the Pacific Coast Invitational on April 17.
• He also has season bests in the pole vault (4.33m), shot put (13.34m), discus (41.43m) and javelin (52.16m).

BIG WEST ACCOLADES
Senior Liam Miksic was named the Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week on April 8. Miksic took second overall, and was the top collegiate finisher in the javelin at the Triton Invitational. The Spring Lake, New Jersey, native threw for over 200 feet in all six rounds with a season-best 67.51 meters (221-6) on his third attempt. His mark ranks second in the Big West and 26th in the West Region. It was his first career weekly award and the only one for UCI men's track & field this year.

MAKING THE LEAP
Junior Kenechukwu Okonkwo joined the Anteaters as a mid-year transfer in 2024 and made an immediate impact as a Big West scorer and NCAA West First Round qualifier in the triple jump. In just his second meet at UCI, he entered the program's all-time top-10 with a lifetime-best of 15.33 meters (50-3.5). In his second meet of the 2025 season, Okonkwo set a new PR with a leap of 15.83 meters (51-11.25) for his first collegiate victory at the Challenge Cup. Okonkwo's mark is tops in the Big West, 10th in the West Region and 18th in all of NCAA Division I this season. He also moved past Mike Powell for No. 2 in program history. 

WINNING WAYS
Seniors Liam Miksic (Javelin) and Jacob Hawkins (Discus), who were the Big West champions in their respective events last year, have both continued their winning ways in 2025. Miksic placed among the top-three in all six of his meets with individual victories at the Beach Opener, Challenge Cup, Vince O'Boyle Classic and Steve Scott Invitational. Miksic is a three-time NCAA West First Round qualifier and two-time Big West champion in the javelin. Hawkins led wire-to-wire in his season-opening discus win at the Ben Brown Invitational. He was also a double champion in the shot put and discus at both the UCR Spring Classic and Vince O'Boyle Classic.

FRESHMAN SENSATION
In his first collegiate season, freshman Angel Cordero has won four of his six 800m races. He kicked off his Anteater career by beating out a field of 45 athletes with a time of 1:52.18 at the Astro AI Distance Classic in Fullerton on March 7. The Chula Vista native continued to impress at the Challenge Cup (March 15) where he clocked a then personal-record 1:48.88 for his second event win. Cordero trimmed .19 seconds off that time at the Bryan Clay Invitational with an impressive 1:48.69. Cordero ranks fifth in program history as he is the first 'Eater to crack the top-10 in the men's 800m since 2017. He added 800m victories at the Triton Invitational (1:50.76) and Steve Scott Invitational (1:49.77).

SENIOR STATEMENT
Senior Joshua Schuld has run a personal record in five of his six races this season. In the steeplechase, Schuld opened the campaign with a 12-second lifetime-best 8:54.14 before bettering that mark at the Bryan Clay Invitational where he crossed the finish line in 8:51.28. His PR ranks fifth in program history. Schuld added a 5000m personal-best 14:17.79 at the Mangrum Invitational, while setting 1500m personal-records of 3:50.04 at the Triton Invitational (April 5) and 3:48.63 at the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 18).

THE LONG RUN
Sophomore Juan Chantaca clocked a lifetime-best 14:09.52 in the 5000m at the Bryan Clay Invitational. His time sits ninth on UC Irvine's all-time charts. Chantaca is the first Anteater to crack the program's top-10 in the men's 5K since 2007. 

OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Senior Bryce Bushnell and freshman Justin Johnson both got out to a fast start this year. At the Challenge Cup on March 15, Bushnell crossed the 100m finish line in a season-best 10.54 seconds to move into a tie for third in program history. Johnson was right on his heels at 10.56 seconds to rank seventh among UCI's all-time leaders. Johnson also posted the Anteaters' fifth-fastest 200m at 21.04 in his collegiate debut at the Ben Brown Invitational. In addition, junior AJ Taylor owns the squad's top 110H time of the season at 14.42 seconds, while sophomore Roman Mendoza leads the way in the 400H (52.91).

UP NEXT
UCI returns to Long Beach State's Jack Rose Track for the Big West Championships, May 16-17.